2019 Singapore National Games - Part 1

Into the Lion's den...

Rogue Archers: Jeb, Samo, Jeremy, and Isaac

 Sometime late last year, my archery buddy from Singapore Jeremy Han had mentioned his intent to compete at a team game at the Singapore National Games.
This actually happened as I traveled to Singapore to compete with his team. 
I have never shared the shooting line with Jeremy and was introduced to Isaac Goh, a fellow teammate earlier this year when I made a trip down to Singapore.
The plan was to crash at Jeremy's home and head down to the Toa Payoh stadium for the shoot.

Logistics...

My plan was simple. Take a bus down to Singapore. This is also the first time I am bringing in archery equipment to the island republic. So, I went in prepared.
There are daily bus services to Singapore from Bandar Sunway which was perfect for me. 
For this game, I packed light and brought my trusty CD Archery WF25X bow with me.
To get past Customs, I first have to declare the equipment at the Sultan Abu Bakar CIC complex near Tanjung Kupang. This was, of course, a pain in the ass.
Next, comes the most trying part: The Singapore Customs...

In the bus, ready to roll...

My ride to the far South...

Arriving in Singapore...

I hauled my gear to the X-ray machine and handed the paperwork to the security staff.
She called a senior Customs officer and two cops. Lots of questions to answer and I was brought to a room where more screening was done. After determining that the intent to bring archery equipment into the island republic was justified, I was allowed to enter.
Thankfully, the bus was still waiting. It made its way to the HarbourFront and my buddies Jeremy and Jeb were already there.

"Annihilate with extreme prejudice..."

Fighting sleep deprivation, we had a full day ahead of us. It started with a light practice at a private range near Teluk Belangah.
Jeremy had set up a new bow which is identical to the one Isaac was using.
Prior to this, I had never shot with the guys.
I sighted in with my bow and was confident of pulling it together at the qualifying rounds on the first day of the team event.

Jeremy sighting-in his bow

Zeroing-in with my WF25X

We met the first team from the Singapore "Boy's Brigade". They came in third last year and was said to be very experienced in the game.
We have two arrows each to land on two 40cmx10ring target faces. One anchor archer with shoot an arrow each on the two faces. 
Since we have never shot as a team, Isaac decided to be the anchor while Jeremy and I took one face each.
We took the first end, the Boys Brigade equalized and the rest of the game belonged to us with an 8-2 win (with one bonus round).

The crowd in the Tao Payoh Stadium

Pep talk with Jeremy after finishing a round...

Counting scores and marking the target faces...

After a good lunch break, we took on four other teams and came up top in our group, unbeaten.
My arrows connected throughout the rounds and I was just glad to be able to do get the job done.

Inculcating good sportsmanship: Jeremy thanking our opponents for a good game...

We cleaned up the rest good including two teams from the Teluk Blangah Archery club. These are premier and seasoned Barebow archers in the island republic who have vast experience competing overseas.
My last brush with them was at Sungai Lembing at a 3D shoot...

Next: Changing mindset...